12-RFP-26-00025 Customer Billing, Payment and Engagement Solution.pdf

Request for Proposals Customer Billing, Payment and Engagement Solution

RFP-26-00025

RFP No. RFP-25-00025 Page 1

IMPORTANT! PLEASE READ CAREFULLY BEFORE SUBMITTING PROPOSAL

SOLICITATION TYPE: Competitive Sealed Proposals

SOLICITATION NUMBER: RFP-26-00025

SOLICITATION TITLE: Customer Billing, Payment and Engagement Solution

BRIEF DESCRIPTION: The Hillsborough County Board of County Commissioners (County) is seeking competitive sealed proposals from experienced and well-qualified firms to provide an electronic payment receipt system to process customer payments through various channels for the Hillsborough County Water Resources Department. The resulting contract will be for a five (5) year period.

DUE DATE & TIME: December 8, 2025, [2:00 P.M.] Eastern Time (our clock)

PRIMARY CONTACT: Tracy Edwards, Senior Buyer

PROPOSAL SUBMISSION: The County will only accept proposals submitted through its electronic bidding system (Euna Procurement). Proposals that are submitted or delivered by non-electronic means (hard-copy paper), facsimile, electronic mail (e-mail), electronic file, or means other than through the County's electronic bidding system (Euna Procurement) will not be accepted or considered. Please visit our vendors webpage (hcfl.gov/vendors) for information regarding vendor registration, electronic bid submission, procurement opportunities, and other important resources.

TIMELINESS: To preserve the integrity of the competitive sealed proposal process, proposals submitted after the due date and time listed above, unless otherwise amended, cannot and will not be accepted. Please do not wait until the last minute, hour, or day to submit your proposal, as you may encounter technical difficulties or issues that cannot be resolved before the due date and time. When preparing to submit your proposal, please read and follow all instructions regarding formatting and other details related to the form(s) to be used. Again, please do not wait until it’s too late for assistance. We value and need your participation, so the last thing we want is for you to miss this opportunity.

QUESTIONS: ● Questions regarding technical difficulties or errors encountered while submitting proposals through Euna Procurement must be directed to Euna Procurement Support at 1-844-226-3862 or support.bonfire@eunasolutions.com.

mailto:support.bonfire@eunasolutions.com

RFP No. RFP-25-00025 Page 2

● Questions regarding the specifications or solicitation document must be directed to the primary contact listed above using the “messages” section in Euna Procurement for this particular procurement.

● To be given consideration, such requests must be received no later than 14 calendar days after the date of Solicitation issuance in Euna Procurement, site visit, or pre-proposal conference, whichever is later.

● Questions regarding vendor registration, training, or general questions must be directed to the Supplier Engagement Team at (813) 272-5790 or iSupplier@HCFL.gov.

CONE OF SILENCE: A Cone of Silence is in effect for this procurement; therefore, no proposer, interested party and/or their principals, officers, employees, attorneys, or agents shall communicate with County employees, the Hearing Master assigned to hear the applicable protest appeal and/or members of the Board of County Commissioners, including their aides and employees regarding this procurement and/or a related protest, except as otherwise provided in the Hillsborough County Procurement Protest Policy and Procedures Ordinance. The Cone of Silence does not prohibit a proposer from communicating with the Director of Procurement, staff in the Procurement Services Department, or the County’s attorney assigned to this procurement. Violating the Cone of Silence may disqualify the proposer from consideration for award. Please refer to the Instructions for complete details about the Cone of Silence.

INSURANCE: Insurance coverage is required for this procurement. Please see RFP-26-00025 Insurance Requirements Attachment and Special Terms and Conditions.

SURETY (BONDS): Proposal, performance, and/or payment surety is not required for this procurement.

E-VERIFY: The Department of Homeland Security's Image Program and E-Verify apply to this procurement. Please see General Terms and Conditions for complete details and requirements.

mailto:iSupplier@HCFL.gov https://library.municode.com/fl/hillsborough_county/codes/code_of_ordinances,_part_a?nodeId=HICOCOORLA_CH2AD_ARTVIPR_DIV3HICOPRPRPOPR_S2-562TI https://library.municode.com/fl/hillsborough_county/codes/code_of_ordinances,_part_a?nodeId=HICOCOORLA_CH2AD_ARTVIPR_DIV3HICOPRPRPOPR_S2-562TI

RFP No. RFP-25-00025 Page 3

1. SPECIFICATIONS

1.1. Scope

1.1.1 Hillsborough County Water Resources Department (WRD) is seeking proposals from experienced and well-qualified firms to provide all labor, material, equipment and support for an electronic payment receipt system to process customer payments through various channels for the Hillsborough County Water Resources Department; to accept on-line credit card payments, e-Checks, mobile, text, digital wallet, and retail payment solutions; and bill print, mail services, and bill redesign to afford the County an opportunity to generate revenue, customer portal to enable customers with self-service, Live Chat, Chatbot, bill view/comparison solution options, communication management feature to communicate with customers using multiple communication options.

1.1.2 All interested Proposers shall have successful and documented experience providing online, interactive voice response (IVR), a simple-to-use, web-based system that allows for managing end users credit/debit card, autopay with credit cards, and e- Check payment processing for other Utilities/Government customers, and mobile application (app) that will be available for download in the Android and Apple store. The mobile app will be hosted and maintained by the Proposer and will include County’s logo in the mobile app.

1.1.3 The Proposer is allowed the use of subcontractors to provide all required services and solutions. The Proposer shall be solely responsible for contracted services. The proposal shall state any intent to use subcontractors for any of the services.

1.1.3.1 Intended subcontractor(s) shall be approved by the time of the award.

1.1.4 The Proposer shall use its credit card authorization services to validate, authorize, and capture Hillsborough County Customers’ credit card payments and post the payment to the customer’s utilities account in real-time which require interfacing with Hillsborough County, Enterprise Solutions’ Customer Information System (CIS) software.

The Proposer shall be responsible for all costs associated with the interfacing requirement of Hillsborough County Enterprise Solutions’ CIS software.

1.1.5 The Proposer shall be responsible for providing services that allow customers to pay their utility bill using a credit or debit card(s) with nationally recognized processors.

1.1.6 The Proposer shall establish Electronic Check (e-Check) payment capabilities for Hillsborough County, Enterprise Solutions as an option that customers can use to make a one-time payment as a guest or with a standard user login. The County shall be given the ability by the Proposer to configure maximum and minimum allowable e-Check payments with the environment Hillsborough County Enterprise Solutions will continue to manage the Automated Clearing House (ACH/a.k.a. Automatic Bank Payments [APB]) relationship with its customers. However, Proposer should have capabilities to establish a recurring

RFP No. RFP-25-00025 Page 4 credit card, ACH, e-Check processing components for County utility bills which will require interfacing with Hillsborough County's CIS server components. The establishment of a dedicated partnership is essential to provide the County with a successful product.

1.1.7 Terms of Services Agreement - Services performed pursuant to the resulting contract shall commence upon execution of the agreement and remain in effect for the period not more than five (5) years from the go-live date, unless otherwise indicated. It is the County's desire to have services available no later than approximately October 2026.

1.2. Applicable Publications and Terminology

The following publication(s) of the issue in effect on date of this solicitation, forms a part of this specification:

1.2.1 Definitions – this section contains definitions that are used throughout this Request for Proposals (RFP), including appropriate abbreviations. The following words and expressions (or pronouns) shall, wherever they appear in this Solicitation Document and the Contract Documents, be construed as follows unless a different meaning is clear from the context.

• Automated Clearing House (ACH) – the electronic clearing and settlement system used for financial transactions by US commercial banks and other institutions

• Automated Clearing House Credit Origination Positive Pay Services (ACH C.O.P.S.) – that ACH payments received via wire transfer will be pass through this verification to prevent fraud

• Automatic Number Identification (ANI) –technology that automatically identifies the phone number of a caller

• Automatic Payment Scheduling –the ability to set up a payment to be drafted on a predetermined date, as either a one-time option or on a recurring basis

• Budget Billing –the ability to manage costs by averaging the monthly bill over a period to make it more consistent

• Confidential – confidential information concerning Offeror’s organization and data that qualifies as a trade secret in accordance with the Uniform Trade Secrets Act NMSA 1978 57-3-A-1 to 57-3A-7 or as provided by the Confidential Materials Act (14-3A-1,1978 14-3A-2 NMSA 1978), and as otherwise provided by law. As one example, no information that could be obtained from a source outside this request for proposals can be considered confidential information

RFP No. RFP-25-00025 Page 5

• Contact Center – integrated communication system that coordinates all telephone and electronic communications between the organization the public

• Customer Contact – a record within a CIS system of interactions with customers and/or actions taken on their account

• Customer Information System (CIS) - a software or database that stores and manages customer information; including but not limited to, billing history, contact information, preferences, and interactions

• Customer Portal – a secure online platform that gives customers visibility and the ability to interact with our organization

• Delinquent Bill – a bill that includes a notice of an arrears balance

• Delinquent Notice – a notification other than the regular billing to inform the customer of an arrears balance

• Fee Structure – itemization of all transaction costs to the County for Proposer services

• Final Bill – a bill that has generated for a customer that has discontinued service

• Florida Sunshine law – section 286.011 of the Florida Statutes and is a series of laws that guarantee the public’s access to government meetings and records

• Geographic Information System (GIS) - a computer-based system used in geography for capturing, storing, manipulating, analyzing, and managing types of geographic data

• Insert – document placed inside an envelope with the bill

• Interactive Voice Response (IVR) – an automated phone system that allows customers to interact with their voice or a keypad to receive or provide information and complete tasks

• IVR Payment Channel - the use of an IVR system to make payments without the need to interact with a live agent

• Interactive Web Response (IWR) – an online system that allows customers to access their account to receive or provide information and complete tasks.

• Mobile App – a software program designed to run on a mobile device like a smartphone or tablet

RFP No. RFP-25-00025 Page 6

• Mobile Payment Solution – a solution that allows acceptance of payments from a device

• Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) – a security method that requires users to provide more than one credential to log in to an account

• Multimedia Messaging Services (MMS) – a standard way to send multimedia messages to and from a mobile phone over a cellular network

• Multi-Premise Bill – a bill for one account that includes several service addresses

• National Automated Clearing House Association (NACHA) – the organization that governs the ACH network, the payment system that drives direct payments and direct deposits

• National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) – the nonregulatory agency of the United States Department of Commerce whose Cybersecurity Framework helps businesses better understand, manage and reduce cybersecurity risk, and protect their networks and data

• Onsert – documents printed inline with a bill or statement

• Outbound Notification - messages that are sent from an application to a recipient outside of the organization

• Paper bills – printed bill statements that are mailed to the customer

• Paperless bills – bills statements that are presented to the customer in an electronic format

• Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) – a mandatory set of guidelines and rules for all businesses that process credit or debit card transactions. It provides a baseline of technical and operation requirements that organizations shall uphold to protect payment account data

• PCI Payment Application Data Security Standard (PA-DSS) – a set of global security standards that help software vendors create secure payment applications

• Post-Route File - the file sent by the County to the Contractor to be processed to produce paper bills and paperless bills

RFP No. RFP-25-00025 Page 7

• Real-time payment (RTP) – payments processed immediately and continuously.

This process is available 24/7/365. Unlike traditional payments, RTP systems immediately transfer funds from one bank account to another. The transaction is completed within seconds, and the recipient has immediate access to the funds

• Rich Communications Services (RCS) – a modern message standard for instant messaging for mobile devices that tends to be more secure and dynamic than MMS and SMS

• Short Message Services (SMS) – a text messaging service that allows users to send and receive short messages on mobile devices

• Single Premise Bill - a bill for one account that includes one service address

• Software as a Service (SaaS) – a method of software delivery and licensing in which software is accessed online via a subscription, rather than bought and installed on individual computers

• Special Alert Bill – bills that generated with targeted information; for example, to remind a customer the account is set up for automatic payment

• Statement on Auditing Standards – guidelines issued by the American Institute of Certified Public that help external auditors and CPAs audit organizations

• Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) – a set of standards that help web developers and content creators ensure that their digital content is accessible to all audiences, regardless of their physical or cognitive limitations

1.3. Background

1.3.1 Hillsborough County provides drinking water, reclaimed water, and wastewater treatment services to Hillsborough County residences. Hillsborough County’s total number of devices for which the County provides services exceeds 230,000. The total population Hillsborough County provides potable water for is approximately 715,883.

1.3.2 Currently, the Water Resources Department accepts payments through the following payment channels:

• Self Service Web Services (Govone e-Account)

• Credit Cards/e-Check through our contracted third-party vendor

• Interactive Voice Response (IVR) Design Requirements for IVR

• Hillsborough County hosted IVR with call transfer to provider

• Hillsborough County hosted IVR with a secure HTTPS forms post

• Provider hosted IVR via 813 area code phone number

RFP No. RFP-25-00025 Page 8

• Electronically - customers' online personal banking service (e-Box i.e. - MasterCard Payment Presentation Services (MPPS)

• Amscot

• Automatic Clearing House (ACH)

• Lockbox (physical payments received via mail)

• Drop Box

• Customer Service Representative (Walk-up, Drive thru)

• Credit Card and ACH for recurring payments of Utility

• Kiosk

1.3.3 Statistical Data

1.3.3.1 Credit Cards: 110,924 customers submitted credit card payments via the IVR from January 1, 2023, through December 31, 2023, representing $14,152,399.42 in total dollars processed through the IVR during this period.

455,127 customers submitted credit card payments via the IWR from January 1, 2023, through December 31, 2023, representing $59,346,009.65 in total dollars processed through the IWR during this period.

1.3.3.2 E-Check Payments: 15,310 customers submitted $3,313,533.69 e-Check payments via the IVR from January 1, 2023, through December 31, 2023, representing $17,465,913.11 in total dollars processed through IVR for e-Checks during this period. 189,261 customers submitted $34,936,861.85 e-Check payments via the IWR from January 1, 2023, through December 31, 2023, representing $94,282,871.50 in total dollars processed through IWR for e-Checks during this period. For the period, January 1, 2023, through December 31, 2023, there were 770,622 e-Check transactions done $111,748,784.60.

1.4. Minimum Requirements

1.4.1 Bill Print and Mail Services

The Contractor shall provide full bill print, mail and display services to the County for existing operational requirements. This will include, but not be limited to:

• Provide an error-free bill and bill notice print file, transmitted to Contractor from the Hillsborough batch processing, for formatting and the creation of paper bills and electronic replicas of paper bills.

• Format and print hard copy bills including special instructions, messages, banners, and remittance stub for accounts flagged in the post route file to receive paper bills.

RFP No. RFP-25-00025 Page 9

• Format and produce an electronic copy including special instructions, messages, banners, and remittance stub for accounts flagged in the post route file to receive paperless bills.

• Provide bill redesign services as needed.

• Enclose bills/onserts based on Hillsborough communications and customer segmentation rules into envelopes.

• Presort, USPS certify, and mail. This is to include allowance for foreign and flat metered postage charges.

• Bill print solution will provide onsert solution options for a continuous bill attachment.

• Send electronic notification of new bill/invoice if applicable with push notification option.

• Promptly archive electronic bill images and make available online for customers/Customer Service Representatives (CSRs) for the period-of-time. The Contractor is obligated to retain billing history as described elsewhere in this RFP.

1.4.2 Payment System / POS Solution

The Contractor shall provide a payment solution within the customer self-service portal that will allow the County to take credit/debit cards, E-Check and ACH transactions for its customers. The payment options shall include Point of Sale (POS), Online, Interactive Voice Response (IVR), and Mobile Payment Solutions. The payment system and POS solution shall be part of a simple-to-use web-based system that allow for managing customers’ credit/debit and e-Check payment transactions. The County shall be provided with a secure web link and include built-in features:

• Real-time reports: All payment transactions are recorded in real-time into reports. The daily reconciliation and payment transaction reports are two (2) ad hoc reports, which the County can create on demand. The payment report is used for managing the payment transactions and the transaction reconciliation report will match, to the penny, to our County’s bank deposits.

• The Contractor shall ensure that the County can create, update, edit, and delete customers who are cash or money order only in order to ‘block’ them so they cannot have the ability to submit a payment using an e-Check through the vendor’s web portal. The Contractor shall provide the mechanism by which the

RFP No. RFP-25-00025 Page 10

County can ‘block’ these types of customers from using the e-Check methodology for payment when they are cash or money order only.

• Interactive Voice Response (IVR) Solution: The Contractor shall provide the County with a toll-free phone number that is available 24 hours a day, seven (7) days a week, 365 days a year. A mutually acceptable maintenance schedule for hardware and software supporting the IVR unit shall be published to the County.

The IVR shall accept credit/debit and e-Check (ACH) payments. After the caller has keyed or spoke the requested information, the caller is given a voice confirmation number. Once the credit/debit card or e-Check (ACH) transaction is approved, the IVR payment shall be recorded in Contractor’s reports in the web-based system and CIS in real time. The IVR unit may accommodate both English and Spanish speakers and may include other language options mutually agreed to by the County and Contractor at current fee rates. The IVR solution shall interface with the CIS system to recognize/match the number the customer is calling from to a customer account to facilitate a seamless transaction for customers.

• Mobile App: The Contractor shall provide the County with a mobile app. This mobile app shall mirror the features described below for the customer portal.

This app shall be available for free download in the Android and Apple stores.

• The Contractor shall provide a customer portal technology access platform that supports the following functions listed below, but not limited to:

o Display the current Hillsborough County logo, branding information, and include department contact information.

o User registration shall be simple, straightforward, and accessible with as few clear steps as possible.

o User can manage their profile, account, and password o User can select and enroll/update easily in paperless billing o Provide a Bill Display so that users can view all details of current bills o Allow guest access to make payments.

o Make a payment of current charges, past due charges, and partial payments.

o Option to split payment between two (2) payment methods.

o Set up a payment arrangement based on guidelines and parameters predetermined by Hillsborough County.

RFP No. RFP-25-00025 Page 11 o View and compare a minimum of 15 rolling months of account history such as billing, payment, and meter usage details.

o Set up automatic payment scheduling:

▪ With the ability for the County and customer to set maximum draft amount for ACH or Credit Card.

▪ With the ability for the County to set minimum draft amount for Credit Card.

o Generate a request to view, print, email, or text a duplicate bill or payment receipts.

o Navigation options to include customer opted Short Message Services (SMS), Multimedia Messaging Services (MMS), Rich Communications Services (RCS), and email confirmation responses.

o Link to department web pages for information such as current rates, watering days and restrictions, and payment options/locations.

o Ability to survey customers o Self-service account management

▪ Balance Due/Due Date

▪ Next Bill Print Date

▪ Usage review: Current and Historical

▪ Start/Stop Service

▪ Transfer Service

▪ Name Change

▪ Mailing Address, Email, Phone Number Change

▪ Submit leak adjustments o Ability for Artificial Intelligence (AI) driven chat filter that directs inquires to Live Chat or Chatbot.

RFP No. RFP-25-00025 Page 12 o Multi-language translation option with English, Spanish, and other language options mutually agreed to by the County and the Contractor.

o Ability to manage multiple accounts with one (1) login.

o Provide QR code technology and supporting information within email and text that includes, but not limited to, automatic login and payment.

o Provide and maintain online instructional materials, including videos, for customers.

o Ability to interface with current meter data management software to display customer’s water read history and usage history (hourly, daily, monthly, seasonal).

o Ability to review and compare prior/current bills (15 months).

o Ability to sign up for notifications via text, email, phone call regarding their account or department related updates.

• The customer portal portion of the solution shall integrate and be compatible with all leading web and mobile browsers such as, but not limited to:

o Chrome o Microsoft Edge o Internet Explorer o Mozilla Firefox o Safari o Mac OS o iOS devices o Android devices o The portal shall interface with the County’s third-party consumer reporting agency to facilitate credit check and waive deposit requirements for residential customers who would like to submit a start service request via the portal.

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▪ Customer will enter their data, and a real-time response of pass or fail shall generate.

▪ If the credit check yields a pass status, no deposit will be required to start service.

▪ If the credit check results in a fail status, a deposit alert should generate, indicating a deposit will be required to start service.

▪ Once the credit check is complete, the customer should be able to submit their request to the Water Resources Contact Center Group for review and processing.

▪ Interface shall follow all Federal Trade Commission requirements including the Fair Credit Reporting Act Red Flag Rule requirements.

▪ If the system alerts of red flag concerns, customer shall be directed to the County Contact Center Group.

o The customer portal and payment solutions shall contain accessibility standards and compliance solution with the Americans with Disability Act (ADA).

o The customer portal/payment solution shall contain a conveyance property update feature that facilitates updates for multi-unit accounts or owner to tenant accounts that are constantly changing to auto create new records when a new account name is listed, clearing a previous account holder’s setup.

o The customer portal shall contain budget billing setup and signup and display for customers to see what the budget billing amounts and periods are.

• The Contractor shall provide an agent portal for staff to be able to proxy and assist customers trying to register or navigate the customer portal, but not limited to:

o Setup based on user roles o Track payments from all payment methods o Cancel and reverse payments

RFP No. RFP-25-00025 Page 14 o Immediate identification of non-sufficient funds (NSF) posting and other payment issues.

o Send payment reminders or link to customers via pay by text option while on a call with the customer.

o Track or resend customers their monthly bills or link to access their bills.

o Contain a dashboard of statistics relating to payments, customer portal usage, and registrations.

o Feature to pull ad hoc or scheduled reports of payments and customer activity on the customer portal.

o The Contractor shall present the bill image the same online, on paper, on CIS, and via the customer portal.

• The Contractor shall provide monthly utility invoices using a variety of delivery channels, but not limited to:

o Paper (includes generating the front and back bill stock, mailing envelope and return envelope).

o E- bill (includes delivery by email and text (Short Message Services (SMS), Multimedia Messaging Services (MMS), Rich Communications Services (RCS)).

o Customer Portal (all customers and service types).

• The Contractor shall generate a variety of full color bill types, but not limited to:

o Single Premise Bills o Multi-Premise Bills o Delinquent Bills o Final Bills o Special Alert Bills o Delinquent Notices

RFP No. RFP-25-00025 Page 15 o Budget Billing o Other printed material to inform Utility customers of regulatory or

County events.

• The Contractor shall generate bills that include, but not be limited to:

o Deposits o Fees o Service charges o Payment Arrangements/ Encumbrances Total History o Cancelled Payment Arrangements o Adjustments o Refunds/Credits o Itemization of bill charges o Bill History Graphs for each Register and Meter

• The Contractor shall accurately present the bill based on the bill file record layout provided by the County from the daily post-route file. The Contractor shall process this file within four (4) hours of receipt. Any processing delays shall be communicated by the Contractor to the County as soon as possible.

• The Contractor shall have equipment and programming capabilities for full-color inserts and onserts on bills as needed by the County.

• The Contractor shall provide a Cloud-Based PCI DSS compliant third-party call center agent-assisted payment processing module or like integrated application for IVR credit card processing that will allow customer service representatives to assist customers with questions or payments while keeping payment information hidden from Contact Center representatives.

• The Contractor shall provide Omni-channel integration and accept point of sale (POS) payments via IVR, customer portal, mobile devices, digital wallets, cashier stations (walk-up/in-person), kiosks, lockboxes, desktops, and Contact Center (Cloud-Based solution) as well as any other common or emerging payment channels.

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• The Contractor shall securely store customer payment information that will allow customers to make quick payments/deposits via email, text, and/or customer portal.

• The Contractor shall accept a wide array of payment solutions such as cash, check, credit card, ACH, and e-commerce to include mobile payment services such as, but not limited to:

o Venmo o Paypal o Retail Locations o Apple Pay o Amazon Pay o Google Pay

• The Contractor shall restrict users from processing credit cards or ACH when the CIS payment denial switches or status alerts are activated.

• The Contractor shall not post any payments to CIS until the payment is validated and has cleared.

• The Contractor shall restrict transaction payments to United States Dollars (USD) only

• The Contractor shall invoice the County for all services provided a clear fee schedule and shall not net their fees from settlements.

• The Contractor shall provide both the following pricing options that can be chosen and changed by County discretion with a 30-day notice:

o Fee structure in which the County gets billed for all fees.

o Fee structure in which customers get billed for applicable fees.

• The Contractor shall adhere to the County’s daily settlement time for all applications of 11:59 PM EST, including weekends and holidays. All funds shall be transferred from the card issuing bank and electronically deposited into the County bank account(s) immediately. All transaction files and reports will be available the next day, before 10:00 AM EST.

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• The Contractor shall provide capabilities for an IVR payment channel:

o It should be simple, straightforward, and accessible with as few clear steps as possible.

o Phone number recognition to account.

o Provide updated account balance for customers o Multi- language translation option with English, Spanish, and include other language options mutually agreed to by the County and the Contractor.

o Users able to select and enroll / update easily in paperless billing.

o Shall have an advanced speech-to-text engine.

o Allow guest access to make payments.

o Make a payment for current charges, past due charges, and partial payments.

o Option to split payment between two payment methods.

o Ability to securely remember credit card information and set up automatic payment scheduling.

▪ With ability for the County and customer to set maximum draft amount for ACH or Credit Card.

▪ With ability for the County to set minimum draft amount for Credit Card.

o Navigation options to include customer opted SMS and email confirmation responses.

o Ability for the Contract Center to transfer customers to make a payment using IVR and upon payment confirmation/acceptance, the call is rerouted back to the same representative to finalize the call.

o The IVR have an interface with the County’s third-party consumer reporting agency to facilitate a credit check and waive deposit

RFP No. RFP-25-00025 Page 18 requirements for residential customers who call the County to start service.

▪ Customers call the Contact Center to start service, the representative shall be able to transfer them to the third-party Credit Reporting option where customers will enter their data, and a real-time response of pass or fail shall generate.

▪ If the credit check yields a pass status, no deposit will be required to start service.

▪ If the credit check results in a fail status, a deposit alert should generate indicating a deposit will be required to start service on the representative’s side.

▪ Once the credit check is complete, the status shall appear on the representative’s system, the call shall get routed back to the representative that transferred the customer to the credit check system to proceed and finalize the service setup process.

▪ Interface shall follow the Fair Credit Reporting Act red flags rule.

(1) If the system alerts red flag concerns, customer shall be redirected to the representative.

• The Contractor shall provide a Communication Manager feature in the agent portal for communication to be sent to customers via Email, Phone Call, text message, campaign messaging, and GIS polygon selection that include but not limited to:

o Welcome new customers letter o Water Outages and/or system outages o New features coming o Campaign messaging via banners on accounts.

• The Contractor shall provide for outbound notifications via Short Message Service (SMS), Multimedia Messaging Services (MMS), Rich Communications Services (RCS), phone calls, and email that include, but not limited to:

o Amount Owed

RFP No. RFP-25-00025 Page 19 o Amount Paid o Amount Overdue o General Notices o Advance Notices/Reminders of bill due date o Water usage over the threshold the customer has preselected notification for.

• The Contractor shall adhere to all local, state, and federal laws when creating outbound notifications. Outbound notifications shall interface with CIS data sources with the option of response verifications to be written to CIS as a customer contact.

• The Contractor shall provide for secure encrypted transactions between contractor hosted components and County systems such as, but not limited to, CIS with separate security level administration, financial transaction processing, and reporting.

• The Contractor shall provide secure password Multi-factor Authentication (MFA) with Automatic Number Identification (ANI) for the IVR and device remembrance for the customer portal to both utility customers and county employees. This authentication should have multiple options including, but not limited to, text, e-mail, and phone call and device recognition option.

• The Contractor shall provide Web Service integration with CIS, software, and/or subsystems to support interfaces for customer service functions.

• The Contractor shall provide the County notification in all applicable channels of customer communication.

o Advance notice of mutually acceptable maintenance and update schedule for hardware and software.

o Prompt notice of any unexpected or unscheduled downtime.

• The Contractors are required to deliver the following minimum non-functional requirements:

RFP No. RFP-25-00025 Page 20 o The solution shall support a Cloud-Based platform with built-in interstate environment redundancy.

o The solution shall support Software as a Service (SaaS) as the preferred method of application and data access.

o The solution shall ensure the County retains ownership of all data, excluding full credit card numbers, and this data shall be provided to the County upon request within a reasonable timeframe.

o The solution shall meet or exceed all banking, state, and federal regulations including all the following security requirements:

▪ PCI Level one (1) compliant payment processor (this is the highest security level standard by the Payment Card Industry).

▪ Show no exceptions to the Statement on Auditing Standards, SSAE 16 Type II, (formally known as SAS 70 Type II Audit) in the last three (3) years.

▪ National Automated Clearing House Association (NACHA) compliant with proof of passing annual audit from the Electronic Payments Association.

▪ Automated Clearing House Credit Origination Positive Pay Services (ACH C.O.P.S.) with proof of the highest level of security to prevent account theft for ACH payments.

▪ Proof of continuous internal audits.

• The Contractor shall demonstrate the capacity to comply with all levels and standards of the following:

o Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS).

o PCI Payment Application Data Security Standard (PA-DSS).

o Requirements and Security Assessment Procedures define security requirements.

o National Automated Clearing House Association (NACHA).

o National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).

RFP No. RFP-25-00025 Page 21 o The solution shall provide access to data per the Florida Sunshine Law.

o The solution shall support a level of AA or higher with 508 compliance/Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG).

• The Contractor offering technology-based products or services that include systems, hardware, and/or software that will connect to any of the County’s networks, provide services over a network via cloud-based services, and/or access or store County department or agency data will be subject to a cybersecurity review. Such review may include the Proposer to complete a cybersecurity questionnaire and participate in interviews with County Information Technology and Cyber Security staff. Ultimately, the successful Proposer will be required to demonstrate current compliance with the County’s cybersecurity requirements prior to contract award. Failure to clearly demonstrate current compliance with the County’s cybersecurity requirements will result in the rejection of the Proposer’s proposal.

• The Contractor shall maintain the following service levels:

o Maintain consistent and stable system performance levels.

o Maintain 99.9% up-time for all systems, excluding scheduled maintenance.

o Provide 24-hour support desk assistance.

o Provide 24/7/365 support for all modules included in the solution.

o Provide for all services and data management to be hosted within the continental United States.

• The Contractor shall support existing kiosks or replace with solution supported kiosks at no charge to the County.

o The Contractor shall provide a method for the County to request/submit payment reversals.

1.4.3 Payment Settlement

1.4.3.1 The Contractor shall perform daily and have available a settlement report demonstrating total payment. The daily settlement information shall be available to Hillsborough County 24 hours per day/7 days a week.

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1.4.3.2 The Contractor will work with Hillsborough County to determine file formatting and offer optional payment settlement times that are Eastern Standard Time specific.

1.4.3.3 When changes to the settlement time are required, the Contractor shall have the ability to make the requested changes within a 24-hour period.

1.4.4 Files Transfer – Mandatory requirement for file transfer capabilities:

1.4.4.1 The Contractor shall provide access to a Secured File Transfer Protocol (SFTP) server that allows County the ability to securely manage file transfer information between all sources involved with credit card transactions.

1.4.4.2 The Contractor shall perform a daily file transfer of funds (daily depository files) to the County’s approved depository bank. The daily depository shall match the total dollars collected from County customers for all payment transactions submitted for the day. The daily depository files transfer time to be determined by the County

1.4.4.3 In accordance with the above mandatory requirements, the Contractor shall generate daily transactions reconciliation files which are accessible to County for the following:

• A payment file showing in detail, daily number of transactions reconciliation that occurred through the various revenue channels of the Contractor (e-Check, IVR, Walk-up, Self Service, including credit card breakdown by type).

• A separate file showing a detailed per transaction report that also provides a daily total of County’s cost for the service.

• A report showing reconciled cost-plus coverage component of the fee charged per County Customer.

• Real time transaction authorization records will provide originating source of payment to update CIS at a minimum but not limited to: Website, Interactive Voice Response (IVR), and Payment Processing Center’s payments. Interfacing with CIS to update County customers’ account with the payment and shall occur upon immediate authorization of customer’s payment. All integration costs are the responsibility of the Contractor.

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1.4.5 Return File / Charge Backs

1.4.5.1 County Charge backs: The Contractor’s Merchant Services shall be responsible for providing immediate notification to the County of all transactions, as they occur, that have been disputed (Chargebacks) by the cardholder or issuer for a resolution. A Charge-Back Adjustment Advice (CBAA) shall be issued to the County for a response to all inquiries regarding fraudulent charges made on a cardholder’s credit card. The CBAA shall include the following: customer name, issuance date, respond by date, Charge back reason code and definition, transaction type, merchant number, transaction amount, dispute amount, invoice/ticket number, dispute account number (credit card #), rollup number, case number, reference number, transaction date, posting date, resolved date, original reference number, received date, and the Primary Account Number (PAN) key entry date. The merchant services shall allow time for the County to fully investigate all charge-back requests and upon approval, initiate the issuance of credits back onto the cardholder’s credit card.

1.4.5.2 County Payments: The Contractor shall demonstrate its capability and capacity to provide a secure direct sever connection to post credit card payments.

The utilization of an Application Programming Interface tool is a preferred method. The County is looking for Contractors to present a secure direct connection between the credit card application and the County’s Customer Information System’s (CIS) application. The interface will be for all channels used to submit a credit card payment.

• The use of an Internet Gateway software product will not be accepted.

The County does not want the use of an Internet Gateway Software product as the driver of the credit card system.

• The Contractor shall allow differentiation of various originating payment channels to the credit card application which can occur over the telephone and as a walk-in customer in the payment processing center, or Kiosk. The Contractor shall build in the requirements to retrieve the customer’s utilities account status to determine if the customer can use the self-service method to make a credit card payment. Access restrictions to pay the utilities account shall be put in place based on the County utilities account status. Customers will be required to contact the County Water Resources Customer Service Department to make a payment on account when a delinquent disconnect service notification is pending.

• The County shall be given the ability by the Contractor to configure maximum and minimum allowable credit card payment payments with the environment. Real time transaction authorization records will provide

RFP No. RFP-25-00025 Page 24 originating source of payment to update CIS at minimum but not limited to Website, IVR, Payment Processing Center, Kiosk payments.

1.4.6 Online Reporting Tool – County

1.4.6.1 The Contractor shall provide online report capabilities for development of business reports and data management including, but not limited to, the following categories:

• Customer’s CIS contract account number

• Credit Card Type

• Data

• Transaction reference number

• Credit card last four (4) digits

• Amount

• Customer billing data

• Customer ID

• Payment methods (IVR, Web, Kiosk, Mobile payment options, Retailer, etc.)

• E-Check payment activity

1.4.6.2 The online reporting tool will provide the ability to export information to CSV and PDF formats.

1.4.6.3 The online reporting tool shall have the ability to differentiate payment activity in order to categorize and query the information needed for viewing. This will include failed payment attempts. It will be necessary for the system to have the ability to allow a representative to update CIS when the credit card payment is successfully captured but CIS was not updated. Preventative methods to bridge the gap in systems communication shall be presented by the Contractor.

1.4.6.4 The Contractor shall also provide an exception reporting tool to track credit card payment anomalies. The purpose of this report is to display the failed payment activity.

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1.4.7 Architecture Design Criteria – The Contractor shall provide Hillsborough County a detailed schematic design/flow chart showing its communications interface components. The design shall show how the Contractor's communication system will interact with the CIS. The Contractor shall demonstrate the communication flow of data and a contingency plan in case of communication failure.

1.4.8 Testing Environment – For all services a mirror image testing environment must be provided and maintained for the duration of the contract.

1.4.9 System Failure Alert

1.4.9.1 The Contractor shall work with the CIS Business Analytics and Application Support Group to develop system alerts when application failures, system maintenance, or other issues that require any of the relating systems (CIS, Credit Card application, etc.) to go offline.

1.4.9.2 The Contractor shall establish and communicate a definitive plan on how they are to handle system failures. Real time alerts are a critical component that the Contractor will need to have in place.

1.4.9.3 The successful Contractor will have a system that will alert Hillsborough County of failed communications during the authorization and capture phase of the payment cycle section immediately upon failure as well as provide system reports verifying the time of failure. The system alert shall notify a designated group of Hillsborough County staff members that a communication failure has occurred.

1.4.9.4 The Contractor will be required to provide Hillsborough County with the capabilities to access customer data to correct payment failure conditions when the failure was due to system error (credit card declines/rejects shall be tracked as well). The Contractor will be responsible for ensuring CIS is updated with all successful credit cards capture details.

1.4.10 Conditions / Prompts to County Customers

1.4.10.1 Payment did not update CIS: After a payment has been authorized and captured, the system shall not allow an external customer to post a second payment until the initial payment condition has been corrected. If the payment does not update CIS (customer's account), the County shall have the tool to release the payment in order to update the customer's utilities account and have the funds allocated to the appropriate credit card general ledger account.

1.4.10.2 Credit Card Verification Failure: The system will be required to verify the credit card holder’s billing address and card identification number. If failure

RFP No. RFP-25-00025 Page 26 to verify any field in the billing information or CID occurs, the system shall immediately prompt the customer of the failed condition and allow for a second payment attempt. At this point, no attempted communication to CIS should have occurred.

1.4.10.3 Internet Failure: Should the transaction not complete due to internet failure after the credit card information has been submitted, the system shall not allow the customer to attempt a second credit card payment. The customer needs to be instructed to contact the County on the next business day, if it is regarding a Utility payment.

1.4.11 The County Training and Implementation Support

1.4.11.1 The Contractor shall provide post-implementation support that includes a well-defined scope, dedicated support team, ongoing training, and a system for feedback and improvement, but not limited to the following responsibilities:

• Support for type of issues, level of service (e.g., emergency, routine) duration of support period

• Provide timely assistance with issues from a dedicated support team with the necessary skills and expertise.

• Clear communication on how to report issues, how to escalate, and how updates will be provided.

• Establish a ticketing system or process for tracking issues and ensuring resolution in a timely manner.

• Documenting solutions

• Ensure the system continues to meet user needs and business objectives.

• Ongoing maintenance and adaptation of the system to changes in the business environment.

1.4.11.2 The Contractor shall train the County, at no cost, on how to use the Contractor’s system via online web sharing training tools or in person and include user guides, troubleshooting guides, and FAQs.

1.4.11.3 The Contractor shall identify key personnel for implementation and operational services. The County shall be provided with an account

RFP No. RFP-25-00025 Page 27 representative that will be available to the County during the hours of 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. EST. The County will be provided with an after-hour support number and email address.

1.4.11.4 All costs associated with the maintenance and programming of the website is the Contractor’s responsibility.

1.4.11.5 The Contractor shall be flexible to allow for messaging when service is not available with the County system.

1.4.11.6 The Contractor shall include training sessions and timeline to the County staff as part of the implementation. However, the County reserves the right to increase or decrease the duration of the training sessions to ensure competencies necessary for using the features of the solution.